Report: Aliens cost hospital $4M

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, November 14, 2007

However, hospital officials said they do not track whether a patient receiving care is a U.S. citizen.

"When someone presents themselves at the E.D. (emergency department)," said hospital spokesman Andrea Rynn, "and requires (emergency) care, their residency or legal status is not top of mind. We're in the business of health care and we're obligated to care for those in need."

The document has a specific line item for "undocumented non-citizens," according to WTNH reporter Alan Cohn.

"It does break it down," Cohn said in an interview Wednesday.

Cohn said the figures show that more than $3.9 million was spent for the undocumented in the first two quarters of last year and more than $6 million for U.S. citizens.

But that's a different picture from the one that emerged earlier this year in a lengthy series on immigration published by The News-Times. Another spokesman for the hospital at that time -- Linda Wiseman -- said "while we recognize that we do serve the undocumented population, we do not distinguish patients in that way."

Under a 1986 federal law, hospitals must provide a medical examination and treatment to stabilize the condition of any patient who requests care in its emergency room, regardless of the person's ability or immigration status.

According to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, hospitals are prohibited from asking a person's immigration status.

Danbury Hospital officials told The News-Times in January that it provided nearly $4 million in "charity care" from Oct. 1, 2005, to Sept. 30, 2006. Charity care is a term that refers to services provided to patients who are unable to pay and for which the hospital does not bill.

In an interview Wednesday, Danbury Hospital spokesman Rynn reiterated that the figure covers anyone who cannot pay -- and that the hospital does not track patients' citizenship status.

Danbury has been a hotbed for the debate over illegal immigration for several years.

The report would mark the first time a definitive number has been cited showing the impact of undocumented immigration in Danbury.

Mayor Mark Boughton formed a group with other mayors and town leaders across the country to lobby Congress for immigration reform.